Jan. 14, 2013 Scientists from the University of Iowa and Brigham Young University (BYU) have identified a gene that may be a target for overcoming drug resistance in cancer. The finding could not only improve prognostic and diagnostic tools for evaluating cancer and monitoring patients' response to treatment but also could lead to new therapies directed at eradicating drug-resistant cancer cells.

Drug resistance is a common problem in many metastatic cancers. It leads to failure of chemotherapy treatments and is associated with poor patient outcomes, including rapid relapse and death.

The research team, including Fenghuang (Frank) Zhan, M.D., Ph.D., and Guido Tricot, M.D., Ph.D., from the UI, and David Bearss, Ph.D., from BYU, initially focused on identifying genes linked to the development of drug resistance in multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer that affects more than 20,000 Americans and causes almost 11,000 deaths annually.

Working with serial biopsied cells from 19 myeloma patients, the researchers analyzed genetic changes in the cells that occurred over the course of treatment with very intensive chemotherapy drugs. This approach identified a gene called NEK2 that is strongly associated with increased drug-resistance, faster cancer growth, and poorer survival for patients. The study was published Jan. 14 in the journal Cancer Cell.

Having established the relationship between high expression of the NEK2 gene and poor patient outcome in myeloma, the team then examined the relationship in other common cancers -- including breast, lung, and bladder cancer -- by analyzing gene expression profiles from 2,500 patients' cells with eight different cancers in Zhan's lab.

"In all cases, an increase in the NEK2 gene was associated with rapid death of the patient," says Tricot, who is director of Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center's Bone Marrow Transplant and Myeloma Program at UI Hospitals and Clinics. "So this finding was not unique to myeloma; this is basically seen in every single cancer we looked at."

Taking the findings back to the lab, the team then examined the effect on cancer cells of either enhancing or blocking the expression of the NEK2 gene.

"Our studies show that over-expression of NEK2 in cancer cells significantly enhances the activity of drug efflux proteins to pump chemotherapy drugs out of cells, resulting in drug resistance. Furthermore, silencing NEK2 in cancer cells potently decreased drug resistance, induced cell-cycle arrest, cell death, and inhibited cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo," says Zhan, UI professor of internal medicine.

The research team is now developing compounds to inhibit NEK2 by collaborating with David Bearss, Ph.D., associate professor of physiology and developmental biology at BYU, in the hope that these compounds may overcome drug resistance in cancer cells.

"We were able to show that if we inhibit NEK2, then we can actually restore sensitivity to drugs that we use right now," Bearss says.

Read the original:
Gene promotes drug resistance in cancer

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

"Road to Executive Leadership" - GHC India 2012
Moderator: Nivedita Aggarwal, CA Technologies Panelists: Soumitra Agarwal, EMA Partners International; Aparna Gupta, FirstRain; Shalini Kapoor, Executive Architect-IBM SWG Labs; Dr. Kiranmai Dutt Pendyala, AMD Reports suggest that over the years the number of executive leadership positions available have increased, but the number of women holding these positions have decreased. Though there is a decent representation of women in mid-to senior-levels, women continue to remain significantly under-represented on boards due to lack of significant strategies in place. This panel discussion will help uncover the golden nuggets of wisdom, and strategies and stories about how some women were able to rise on top of their chosen profession despite the hurdles that came along. The panelists of this session have achieved leadership roles and have reached there with a reputation of delivering key results. They are comfortable embracing power and are credible and strategic. The panelists will also share their views on what companies look for while hiring for executive positions. Nivedita Aggarwal, Director, Technical Information, CA Technologies Nivedita is a Director at CA Technologies (India) with a team of 70+ talented team members working out of different locations-- Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Australia. With more than 12 years of experience in the IT industry, including 7+ years in various management roles, her responsibilities varied from training, user documentation, people ...

By: abiwt

Read more here:
"Road to Executive Leadership" - GHC India 2012 - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Persuasive Speech: Genetic Engineering
Here is my speech on Genetic Engineering: the way of manipulating genes to make our bodies better.

By: Monica Mulder

Go here to read the rest:
Persuasive Speech: Genetic Engineering - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Gene sequencing program gives researchers new leads to improve cancer treatment

Newswise ANN ARBOR, Mich. It started with a 44-year-old woman with solitary fibrous tumor, a rare cancer seen in only a few hundred people each year.

By looking at the entire DNA from this one patients tumor, researchers have found a genetic anomaly that provides an important clue to improving how this cancer is diagnosed and treated.

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center sequenced the tumors genome through a new program called MI-ONCOSEQ, which is designed to identify genetic mutations in tumors that might be targeted with new therapies being tested in clinical trials.

The sequencing also allows researchers to find new mutations. In this case, an unusual occurrence of two genes NAB2 and STAT6 fusing together. This is the first time this gene fusion has been identified.

In most cases, mutations are identified because we see them happening again and again. Here, we had only one case of this. We knew NAB2-STAT6 was important because integrated sequencing ruled out all the known cancer genes. That allowed us to focus on what had been changed, says lead study author Dan R. Robinson, research fellow with the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology.

Once they found the aberration, the researchers looked at 51 other tumor samples from benign and cancerous solitary fibrous tumors, looking for the NAB2-STAT6 gene fusion. It showed up in every one of the samples. Results are published online in Nature Genetics.

Genetic sequencing is extremely important with rare tumors, says study co-author Scott Schuetze, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School. Models of rare cancers to study in the laboratory are either not available or very limited. The sequencing helps us to learn more about the disease that we can use to develop better treatments or to help diagnose the cancer in others.

The NAB2-STAT6 fusion may prove to be a difficult target for therapies, but researchers believe they may be able to attack the growth signaling cycle that leads to this gene fusion.

Understanding the changes induced in the cell by the NAB2-STAT6 gene fusion will help us to select novel drugs to study in patients with advanced solitary fibrous tumors. Currently this is a disease for which there are no good drug therapies available and patients are in great need of better treatments, Schuetze says.

See more here:
Researchers Identify Genetic Mutation for Rare Cancer

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The desire to seek thrills on the ski slope may be in your genes, according to new research.

The study, which involved about 500 skiers and snowboarders of intermediate to expert skill level, found that people who had a particular genetic marker were more likely to say they tried daredevil moves on the slopes than those without the marker.

For instance, people with the marker more often agreed with statements such as "I like to ski/ride fast" and "I like to go down runs that I have never been down before."

The findings held even after the researchers took into account factors that could affect thrill-seeking behavior, such as gender and skill level.

The marker is found within a gene involved in the creation of a brain receptor that binds to dopamine a chemical thought to play a role in reward-seeking behaviors. The marker may affect the number of dopamine receptors in the brain.

It's not clear how the marker could affect a person's behavior, said study researcher Cynthia Thomson, a Ph.D. student at the University of British Columbia's School of Kinesiology. But one possible explanation is that people with fewer dopamine receptors need a greater amount of stimulation (in the form of thrills) to reach the same level of arousal as people with more receptors, Thomson said.

However, the new study only found an association, so it doesn't prove that this genetic marker plays a role in thrill-seeking behavior, Thomson said. In addition, there are likely many genes that influence this type of behavior, which remain to be found.

Previous studies have investigated whether this genetic marker is linked with being an extrovert, or with seeking out new things in general. However, none have examined the connection between this marker and thrill-seeking in sports.

In addition, previous studies often question people about what they would do in hypothetical situations, but because the new study focused on skiers and snowboarders, it was able to inquire about people's actual behavior.

Thomson said sports may be a pro-social outlet for sensation-seeking, as opposed to more deviant outlets, such as substance abuse.

Read the original:
Skiers' Thrill-Seeking May Be Genetic

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Proof of 2nd Hostboot
Proof against Genetics and walnut Match ID: 36030777

By: wargamesnerd

Link:
Proof of 2nd Hostboot - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Proof of 2nd map no-show
Proof against Genetics and walnut Match ID: 36030777

By: wargamesnerd

Excerpt from:
Proof of 2nd map no-show - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Proof of 1st map hostboot
Proof against Genetics and walnut Match ID: 36030777

By: wargamesnerd

See the original post here:
Proof of 1st map hostboot - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

True Cannabliss #39; Girl Scout Cookies in the UK Emerald Triangle OG - Connoisseur Genetics
Well I don #39;t often get to go into seed breeders gardens so this is a treat for you! From the man who brought you the UK Casey Jones cutting, True Cannabliss takes us around his flower tent with three lovely strains - buds swelling like crazy as they are entering the thorough 21 day flush for that soft white ash. Triangle Emerald OG, Girl Scout Cookies, Grand Daddy Purple S1 by Connoisseur Genetics in the middle. Get yourself a 10% discount on all Connoisseur Genetics seeds at http://www.odysseed.nl - just shoot Frank an e-mail with the code "CONNOISSEURCURE" and he will apply that to your order when he processes it. Feel free to e-mail before hand. The two different freebies at the moment are also Connoisseur Genetics new strains...!!! Freebies - Grape Lemonade Fems (exclusive to Odysseed) Cheese Dawg Regulars! American orders recieve a 20% discount so why not have a taste of what the Brits have done with some classic UK American genetics.

By: CannabisCureTV

Go here to read the rest:
True Cannabliss' Girl Scout Cookies in the UK

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Proof of 2nd map win
Proof against Genetics and walnut Match ID: 36030777

By: wargamesnerd

Read the rest here:
Proof of 2nd map win - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Systems Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center
Howard J. Federoff, MD, PhD, executive vice president for health sciences at Georgetown University Medical Center, is acutely aware of the hurdles facing the introduction of a sweeping new vision for health care, systems medicine. Federoff sees this approach impacting, not only how patient care is delivered, but perhaps even more importantly, how GUMC teaches, conducts research and engages with the community. As a concept, systems medicine is at once complex and straightforward. Federoff describes it as an approach that will allow health care providers to understand the interplay between genetics and the environment in such a way that they will be able to predict who is at greatest risk for disease, rather than simply reacting to symptoms.

By: GeorgetownToday

Continue reading here:
Systems Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

CGR Undertow - RIDING STABLES: RIVALS IN THE SADDLE 3D review for Nintendo 3DS
Riding Stables: Rivals In The Saddle 3D video review. Classic Game Room presents a CGR Undertow video review of Riding Stables: Rivals In The Saddle 3D, a downloadable game from TREVA Entertainment on the eShop for the Nintendo 3DS. Riding Stables is a fun pet simulator for kids. There are 30 different tasks to do, from grooming your horses to feeding them and playing rhythm games. Because horses only win ribbons if they can master Elite Beat Agents. There are 26 different breeds to choose from, and you can even adjust their genetics, if you #39;re into that kind of thing. This video review features video gameplay footage of Riding Stables: Rivals In The Saddle 3D for the Nintendo 3DS and audio commentary from Classic Game Room #39;s Derek. Check out more reviews from Classic Game Room at: http://www.YouTube.com and http://www.YouTube.com For the latest trailers, visit http://www.YouTube.com And connect with us at: http://www.ClassicGameRoom.com http http://www.gplus.to http://www.Twitter.com http://www.Twitter.com

By: CGRundertow

Original post:
CGR Undertow - RIDING STABLES: RIVALS IN THE SADDLE 3D review for Nintendo 3DS - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Never get between a Woman and her MONEY
My Daughter Layla (1 1/2) fighting her 16 year uncle over a $5 bill. and she is biting him... Just goes to show that Woman are drawn to money at a young age, It is in there genetics....

By: Stephen Booth

More:
Never get between a Woman and her MONEY - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The Life Sciences Facility - Time Lapse Video
The new facility is an exciting expansion for the teaching and research capabilities of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences at Clemson University. Here, some of the country #39;s brightest minds will come together to share the latest technology and the most up-to-date laboratory space. The 100000-square-foot facility is targeted to achieve LEED gold status. Researchers housed in the facility represent microbiology, biochemistry, food safety and genetics mdash; the basics of human existence. The new Life Sciences facility encourages collaboration, offers state-of-the-art technology and provides the tools needed for this generation #39;s greatest minds to excel.

By: clemsonpsa

Read more here:
The Life Sciences Facility - Time Lapse Video - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

2012 Nikon Small World in Motion - Honorable Mention
Beating heart of a Danio rerio (zebrafish) (20x) Michael Weber, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics For more information on this winning movie, go to http://www.nikonsmallworld.com

By: NikonMicroscopes

Read the original:
2012 Nikon Small World in Motion - Honorable Mention - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwire - Jan 15, 2013) - Sage North America today announced AgReliant Genetics, LLC, a Midwestern field seeds company, has used a customized version of Sage SalesLogix on iPad tablets to achieve 95% CRM adoption among its 300 sales employees and accelerate its sales and marketing processes. AgReliant Genetics, which recently became the third-largest U.S. corn seed company, cites Sage SalesLogix as a key contributor to its growth.

"Sage SalesLogix helps our reps reduce 'windshield' time and prioritize visits with customers most likely to buy," said Steve Thompson, AgReliant Genetics director of IT. "We needed a way for reps to work more comfortably out in the field and still access CRM data. With Sage SalesLogix running on iPad tablets, they have everything needed from territory maps that drill into account details to speech-to-text notes that go right into the CRM database. Our sales and customer satisfaction have improved because reps can now manage most opportunities or issues right on location."

AgReliant Genetics markets five seed brands in Midwestern corn and soybean states. Each representative works with a customer base of farmers, dealers and retail operations, traveling approximately 50,000 miles a year while working out of their trucks to service territories. Prior to implementing Sage SalesLogix, sales representatives across all five brands used individual selling processes.

The company's initial CRM deployment showed management the importance of collecting detailed prospect and customer information, managing seed orders in CRM from its fulfillment system, scoring prospects for sales prioritization, and automating marketing campaigns. However, user adoption was just 5 percent due to the inconvenience of carrying laptops in the field.

AgReliant Genetics' IT team and Sage business partner, Sincera Solutions, developed a customized Sage SalesLogix iPad app, piloting a mobile CRM program with a cross section of employees. Within six months, Sage SalesLogix became a companywide CRM system with usage near 95% of sales employees.

In the field

AgReliant Genetics sales reps prefer visuals over to-do lists, so IT has made most CRM capabilities mobile, visual, voice-activated and keyboardless. The company provides iPad tablets to each sales rep, and security provisions include the ability to remotely wipe any tablet that is lost or stolen.

On average, reps will call on over 300 farmers a year. The reps use Google Maps on their iPad tablets with color-coded pins' visualizing Sage SalesLogix data to indicate each farming account's current acreage, how recently seed was purchased, and each farmer's unique agronomic specifications including soil type and equipment preferences. Pin colors also change to indicate new sales opportunity forecasts based on previous units purchased.

Another tablet status view indicates where each opportunity is in the sales process (orders pending, shipping, follow-up status and so on). Additional data visualizations show which prospects and customers are in specific stages of marketing campaigns so sales reps can determine exactly whom to call on next. Sage SalesLogix also shows reps which customers and prospects are purchasing seed from competitors.

A speech-to-text call note capability is the most popular among sales reps. They can simply speak into their tablets after sales visits, and notes are automatically transcribed into the appropriate Sage SalesLogix contact, account, opportunity and to-do fields.

View post:
AgReliant Genetics, LLC Using Sage SalesLogix CRM on iPad Tablets to Accelerate Sales and Improve Customer Experience

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Jan. 15, 2013 Usually, results from a new study help scientists inch their way toward an answer whether they are battling a health problem or are on the verge of a technological breakthrough. Once in a while, those results give them a giant leap forward. In a preliminary study in a canine model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), University of Missouri scientists showed exactly such a leap using gene therapy to treat muscular dystrophy.

The results of the study will be published in the journal Molecular Therapy on Jan. 15, 2013.

Muscular dystrophy occurs when damaged muscle tissue is replaced with fibrous, bony or fatty tissue and loses function. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common type of muscular dystrophy predominantly affecting boys. Patients with DMD have a gene mutation that disrupts the production of dystrophin, a protein essential for muscle cell survival and function. Absence of dystrophin starts a chain reaction that eventually leads to muscle cell degeneration and death. For years, scientists have been working to find the key to restoring dystrophin, but they have faced many challenges.

One of the largest hurdles in DMD gene therapy is the large size of the gene. Dystrophin is the largest gene in the human genome, containing approximately 4,000 amino acids. To fit the dystrophin gene into a vehicle that could deliver the gene to the appropriate site in the body, one has to delete 70 percent of the gene. The highly abbreviated gene is known as the "micro-dystrophin" gene. Previous studies suggest that micro-dystrophin can effectively stop muscle disease in mice that are missing dystrophin. However, mice that are missing dystrophin show minimal DMD symptoms, and results from mice often do not predict what will happen in humans. In contrast to mice, loss of dystrophin results in severe muscular dystrophy in dogs. If micro-dystrophin can work in dystrophic dogs, it will likely work in human patients. Unfortunately, when micro-dystrophin was tested in dogs in previous studies, it was not successful.

To overcome these hurdles, a team led by Dongsheng Duan, the Margaret Proctor Mulligan Professor in Medical Research at the MU School of Medicine, engineered a new micro-dystrophin gene that carries an important functional region missing in previously tested micro-dystrophins.

"We placed the new microgene into a virus and then injected the virus into dystrophic dogs' muscles," Duan said. Following gene therapy, Duan's team examined the dogs for signs of muscle disease and measured muscle force in treated and untreated dogs. After careful evaluation of 22 dogs, Duan and colleagues found that the new version of micro-dystrophin not only reduced inflammation and fibrosis, it also effectively improved muscle strength.

"This is the first time that we have seen positive gene therapy results in large mammals of DMD," said Duan. "We still have a lot of work to do, but we now know that our gene therapy strategy works in large mammals; this is a quantum leap forward in fighting this disease. Our next step is to test our strategy in a large group of muscles in the dogs, and then, eventually, see if 'whole body therapy' will work in the dogs. We are still a long way off before we will have a human treatment, but with this finding, I do see a light at the end of this tunnel."

If additional studies, including animal studies, are successful within the next few years, MU officials would request authority from the federal government to begin human drug development (this is commonly referred to as the "investigative new drug" status). After this status has been granted, researchers may conduct human clinical trials with the hope of developing new treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

See more here:
Quantum leap in gene therapy of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --SanBio Inc. today announced the successful enrollment of the second dose cohort of patients in its Phase 1/2a clinical trial testing the safety and efficacy of a novel allogeneic stem cell therapy product, SB623, in patients suffering from chronic deficits resulting from previous stroke injuries. The first 12 patients, of a planned total of 18, have been successfully administered SB623. The trial is being conducted at Stanford University, the University of Pittsburgh and Northwestern University. No safety concerns have been attributed to the cell therapy product. For details regarding this clinical trial, please refer to http://www.strokeclinicaltrial.org.

SB623 is derived from adult bone marrow and has shown safety and efficacy in rodent models of chronic stroke. "The successful completion of the first two dose cohorts of this pioneering clinical trial is a clear indication of the dedication and professionalism of the entire team," said Keita Mori, SanBio CEO.

SB623 is being delivered to the damaged region of the brains of patients who have suffered an ischemic stroke. Product safety is the primary focus of the study but various measurements of efficacy are also being tested.

"We are pleased with the safety findings of the study thus far," said Dr. Ernest Yankee, SanBio's Executive Vice President of Development. "We anticipate completing the enrollment of the third and final dose cohort early in the year and reporting the results shortly thereafter."

About SB623: SB623 is a proprietary cell therapy product consisting of cells derived from genetically engineered bone marrow stromal cells obtained from healthy adult donors. SB623 is administered adjacent to the area damaged by stroke and functions by producing proteins that aid the regenerative process.

About SanBio: SanBio is a privately held San Francisco Bay Area biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of new regenerative cell therapy products.

For more information: http://www.san-bio.com

The rest is here:
SanBio Announces Enrollment Of The Second Cohort Of Patients In Its Clinical Trial Of Stem Cell Therapy For Chronic ...

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

Ovation Cell Therapy: Sell an Invention
This is for bioligy

By: Nucleusforpres

See original here:
Ovation Cell Therapy: Sell an Invention - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Ovation Cell Therapy 2 Year Update.
It #39;s my bday today yay *****HD IS AVAILABLE HERE**** Hi Beauties Beaus great seeing you and I hope you enjoy the video. I appreciate any feedback, suggestions and yes I take request. If you haven #39;t already please click the pretty subscribe button the like button if you saw something nice. See ya soon!!! All Business inquiries reviews, sponsors may feel free to contact me via email at ginaworks4u@att.net or gfancybeauty@gmail.com ^^^^Where You Can Find Me^^^^ FB-Regina Gfancybeauty Campbell Instagram-Gfancybeauty Twitter-Luvofawoman DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with any products shown though out this video. All items shown in this video were purchased for my own personal use as well as for educational purposes on Youtube.

By: Gfancybeauty

More here:
Ovation Cell Therapy 2 Year Update. - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

W ORCESTER Guangping Gao, an accomplished scientist, makes the trip at least one time a day, and sometimes as many as five.

Each time he wants to confer with a colleague at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, each time he walks from his lab on Plantation Street to the main campus, he loses 10 or 15 minutes.

It's not much of a sacrifice in the name of science, acknowledged Mr. Gao, director of the school's Gene Therapy Center, which is developing a treatment for a fatal condition called Canavan disease.

But it's also far from ideal. Soon, Mr. Gao will move into the Albert Sherman Center, a vast, $400 million research building UMass Medical School constructed to double its research capacity and bring dozens of scientists under one roof.

I believe moving for us will make a huge difference, Mr. Gao said. I think this move will speed up our collaboration.

The Sherman Center was designed with collaboration in mind. The design team even made a staircase a central feature of the 500,000-square-foot, nine-story structure, to encourage chance meetings. They put wet and dry laboratory spaces on the same floors, so researchers working at lab benches and researchers crunching data on computers would be able to mingle.

This building is meant to bring people together, said Mark N. Dolny, associate principal with Architectural Resources Cambridge, which designed the building.

Set to open this month, the Sherman Center will be the new hub of the medical school campus, which also includes a main building and the Aaron Lazare Medical Research Building. The Sherman Center has ample lab space, cozy student meeting rooms, an airy dining area, a new fitness center and what Dr. Michael F. Collins, chancellor of the medical school, calls classy spaces where school leaders can try to impress potential donors.

UMass' goal for the Sherman Center is as huge as the building itself.

We're going to change the course of the history of diseases, Dr. Collins said.

Read more here:
Research takes center stage

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/kr5v5v/dna_sequencing) has announced the addition of Jain PharmaBiotech's new report "DNA Sequencing - Technologies, Markets and Companies" to their offering.

This report briefly reviews basics of human genome variations, development of sequencing technologies, and their applications. Current large and small sequencers are described as well as companies developing them. Various applications of sequencing are described including those for genetics, medical diagnostics, drug discovery and cancer. Next generation sequencing technologies, both second and third generations, are reviewed. Companies developing software for analysis of sequencing data are also included. Selected academic institutes conducting research in sequencing are also listed.

Current market is mostly for research applications and future markets will be other applications related to healthcare. The value of DNA sequencer market in 2012 is described with estimates for 2017 and 2022. Various methods and factors on which market estimates depend are described briefly. Small sequencers form the basis of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. Several marketing strategies have been outlined.

The report includes profiles of 106 companies involved in sequencing and their 106 collaborations. The report text is supplemented by 33 tables, 12 figures and 300 selected references to the literature.

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

1. Introduction

2. DNA Sequencing Technologies

3. Comparative Analysis of Sequencing Technologies

Here is the original post:
Research and Markets: DNA Sequencing - Technologies, Markets and Companies 2013 Report

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Public release date: 14-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dr. Sibylle Kohlstdt s.kohlstaedt@dkfz.de Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres

Cachexia or wasting is a condition affecting up to 70 percent of cancer patients, depending on the type of cancer. It is characterized by a dramatic loss of body weight that is independent of food intake. Cachexia is seen particularly often and most pronounced in patients suffering from cancers of the digestive tract and the lungs. They may lose up to 80 percent of body fat and skeletal muscle. Muscle loss leads to weakness and immobility of patients and poorer response to treatment. An estimated 20 percent of cancer deaths are considered to be a direct consequence of cachexia, with failure of the respiratory muscles as a frequent cause of death.

"Doctors used to believe that cancer re-programs metabolism in such a way that all energy goes into tumor growth," says Prof. Dr. Stephan Herzig, who heads a joint research department of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg University and Heidelberg University Hospital. However, by now researchers presume that cachexia is the body's response to various harmful stimuli originating directly from the growing tumor. In his endeavor to find the causes of cachexia, Stephan Herzig, an expert in metabolism, took a closer look at the liver as the control center of metabolism for the first time. "Cachexia patients frequently have an inflamed fatty liver this was a major clue for this organ being involved."

The researchers discovered that cancerous mice have extremely low lipid (blood fat) levels meaning that their bodies lack the most important energy source. However, they accumulate fat in the liver. The low lipid levels in the diseased animals are due to their liver releasing only very little VLDL (very low density lipoprotein). This lipoprotein is the vehicle that transports fats in the blood. Moreover, the genes for all major steps of lipogenesis are blocked in the livers of cancerous mice.

"This is a clear indication of a central gene switch in the liver driving cachexia", says Stephan Herzig. The researcher therefore specifically searched for differences in protein switches regulating gene activity and hence hepatic energy metabolism in cancerous and healthy mice. Herzig's team found significant differences in a poorly studied gene switch called TSC22D4, which is found in larger amounts in cancerous mice than in healthy control mice.

Herzig's team demonstrated the key role of TSC22D4 in the onset of cachexia. The researchers specifically silenced the switch in the animals' livers. The organ subsequently went back to producing enough VLDL to make lipid levels in the cancerous animals rise. In addition, the genes involved in lipogenesis got boosted again.

"Our results prove, for the first time, that dramatic loss of body mass may be controlled by the liver," says Stephan Herzig. "We also know by now that TSC22D4 has exactly the same effect in human hepatic cells. There is evidence suggesting that this gene switch can be controlled via specific metabolic products and that we might thus be able to slow down the fatal wasting process. However, this approach has not yet been proven experimentally. This is what we will investigate next."

###

Allan Jones, Kilian Friedrich, Maria Rohm, Michaela Schfer, Carolyn Algire, Philipp Kulozik, Oksana Seibert, Karin Mller-Decker, Tjeerd Sijmonsma, Daniela Strzoda, Carsten Sticht, Norbert Gretz, Geesje M. Dallinga-Thie, Barbara Leuchs, Manfred Kgl, Wolfgang Stremmel, Mauricio Berriel Diaz and Stephan Herzig: Transforming growth factor-beta1 Stimulated Clone-22 D4 is a molecular output of hepatic wasting metabolism, EMBO Molecular Medicine 2012

Read this article:
Liver controls wasting in cancer

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Washington, Jan 14 (ANI): The tumor suppressor gene p53 is the single most frequently mutated gene in human tumors, as it keeps pre-cancerous cells in check by causing cells, among other things, to become senescent - aging at the cellular level.

Loss of p53 causes cells to ignore the cellular signals that would normally make mutant or damaged cells die or stop growing.

In short, the p53 pathway is an obvious and attractive target for drug developers.

But that strategy has so far proven difficult, as most p53 regulatory proteins operate via protein-protein interactions, which make for poor drug targets, as opposed to ones based on enzymes.

Now, a team of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, has identified a class of p53 target genes and regulatory molecules that represent more promising therapeutic candidates.

As Xiaolu Yang, PhD, professor of Cancer Biology and investigator in Penn's Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, and his team describe, p53 participates in a molecular feedback circuit with malic enzymes, thereby showing that p53 activity is also involved in regulating metabolism.(The Yang lab identified p53's role in glucose metabolism in the past.)

The new findings suggest that p53 acts as a molecular sensor of metabolic stress and explains how metabolic stress can lead to senescence in cells, Yang said.

"We uncovered an important regulatory mechanism for p53 as well as an effector mechanism for p53," Yang said.

As cells become damaged and precancerous, the p53 protein prevents those cells from continuing towards becoming tumors by causing the cells to senesce.

Metabolic cues also regulate senescence, but the molecular relays coupling those two processes-senescence and metabolism-remained unknown.

More here:
Tumor suppressor gene links metabolism with cellular aging

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/s4wm4g/genetic_testing) has announced the addition of GlobalData's new report "Genetic Testing Market Outlook in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) to 2018" to their offering.

This new report provides key market data on the Genetic Testing market in the BRICS countries. The report provides value ($m), volume (units) and average price ($) data for each segment and sub-segment within seven market categories - Inborn Gene or Chromosome Alterations, Other Genetic Tests and Acquired Gene or Chromosome Alterations. The report also provides company shares and distribution shares data for the overall Genetic Testing market in each of the aforementioned countries. The report is also supplemented with global corporate-level profiles of the key market participants with information on key developments, wherever available.

This report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research and in-house analysis by a team of industry experts.

The emerging economies, comprising China, India, Brazil, Russia and South Africa, with a significantly large pool of under-served patients, represent the next big opportunity for the leading medical equipment and devices manufacturers. China remains the world's most populous country and is consequently home to a large patient base. The country is home to more than 120 million people who are aged 65 or oldera population in continuous need of medical care. India, the second most populous country globally, is home to 1.2 billion people, approximately 5% of which are aged 65 or older. It's estimated that shortly after 2020, India's population will surpass China, making it the most populous country in the world. As the population continues to grow and people continue to age, the underlying demand for healthcare is also expected to increase.

Scope

- Market size data for Genetic Testing market categories - Inborn Gene or Chromosome Alterations, Other Genetic Tests and Acquired Gene or Chromosome Alterations

- Annualized market revenues ($m), volume (units) and average price ($) data for each of the segments and sub-segments within the seven market categories. Data from 2004 to 2011, forecast forward for seven years to 2018.

- 2011 company shares and distribution shares data for the overall Genetic Testing market in each of the aforementioned countries.

- Global corporate-level profiles of key companies operating within the Genetic Testing market in BRICS.

View original post here:
Research and Markets: Genetic Testing Market Outlook in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) to 2018

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith